The original Van Halen bassist and the Mammoth frontman shared a moment backstage in Las Vegas
Last night, original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony attended Mammoth WVH’s performance in Las Vegas. After the show at The House of Blues, Anthony caught up with Wolfgang Van Halen backstage. The two shared a candid moment, that was revealed on X, formerly Twitter, by Wolfgang himself.
“Ran into an old friend at the Mammoth WVH show in Vegas tonight,” Wolfgang said. “Love ya, Mikey [Michael Anthony].”
See Wolfgang’s X [Twitter] post below.
For now, we have to take the post at face value, and see it for what it is – a heartwarming reunion of two friends. In light of recent events, however, we can’t help but wonder if we might see these two together on stage, not just backstage.
On November 14, former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar revealed plans for a full North American tour slated for next summer. He will be joined by rock heavyweights and longtime bandmates Jason Bonham on drums, Joe Satriani on guitar, and his one-time Van Halen bandmate, original bassist Michael Anthony on bass and backing vocals. The 28-date trek next summer.
There could possibly be more musicians, however, joining in on the run.
During an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, Hagar declared that special guest appearances by musicians of note in every city the tour stops at could occur, and he also publicly invited his former Van Halen bandmate, founding drummer Alex Van Halen, and original singer David Lee Roth, to join him on stage during his tour next year.
“We’re gonna invite every musician in every town,” Hagar stated. “First of all, whenever you play, if there’s a guitar player in town, no matter what city it is, they come out to see Joe [Satriani], just like they used to do for Eddie [Van Halen]. So, if we’ve got other guitar players, we’ll get them involved. If Alex Van Halen wants to jump up, if David Lee Roth wants to come out and join us, come on, motherfucker. You are welcome! This is about Van Halen.”
Since Eddie Van Halen’s passing in October of 2020, there’s been a ton of speculation about either a tribute tour, or a Van Halen reunion of all the surviving members.
“It’s time,” Hagar said on Stern. “Nobody else is gonna do it. […] And we are the only ones who can do it.”
When Stern asked what the odds are of Alex Van Halen coming out to a gig, Hagar replied, “I would hope so. I reach out to Al [Alex Van Halen] about once a month for about five years now, and he doesn’t get back to me. I call, I leave a voice message, I send a text, and I send an e-mail. All three things. ‘Al, give me a call.’ Al’s favorite line to me was always, every time he wanted to get back together, he would say, ‘You know, Sam, we ain’t gettin’ any younger.’ So, I’d say, ‘Hey, Al, we ain’t gettin’ any younger. Give me a call. Let me know. What do you want do? Come on over. Let’s get together. Mike [Michael Anthony] and I will meet you somewhere.”
After Hagar extended the invitation, Roth replied, simply stating – “I’m ready to go. Let’s do this.”
In a new interview with Q104.3’s Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke, Wolfgang responded positively to the news of the tour, stating, “Yeah, that’s [tour] super cool, man. I’m stoked for it. I’m actually, I’m gonna see Mike [Michael Anthony] in Vegas, so I’m stoked to give him a hug.”
Since his father Eddie’s passing in 2020, Wolfgang has made it crystal clear where he stands on all things Van Halen. He’s carved out his own career, churning out a GRAMMY®-nominated debut LP with his namesake band. This summer, the group toured in Metallica and released their sophomore effort.
Wolfgang wanted to make his own way without coasting off the name of his famous father. He’s done a damn good job of it, too. In an age where nepotism in entertainment is a hot topic, it’s no wonder why Wolfgang chose to forge his own path. He made the decision not to play any Van Halen tunes live with Mammoth, something that he battles with bonehead “fans” about on social media.
He did, however, join Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, drummer Josh Freese, and The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins for a renditions of Van Halen’s “Panama” and “Hot for Teacher” on September 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, as part of the tribute concerts to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
“I didn’t even know if I could do it,” Wolfgang told told Guitar World’s Chris Gill. “I had a lot of conversations with Dave. What a kind sweetheart of a man he is. We talked a lot about [it]. Initially he was like, ‘What do you think? Would you be comfortable doing this?’ Initially, I didn’t wanna disappoint Dave Grohl. And I was like, ‘Sure.’”
Wolfgang explains that due to the gravity of the invitation, Grohl asked him to mull it over to ensure he felt he was making the right choice.
“I thought a lot about it and I was like, ‘You know what, if there was ever a time, this is it.’ I talked to him about it and I was just honest. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I could do this, but if I do I need your support. I need you up there with me.’ I was like, ‘Whatever the incarnation of what it becomes, I need you there with me,’ and he was like, ‘Absolutely.’
Perhaps, we could see Wolfgang perform more Van Halen songs again this summer. While he won’t play any VH tunes on a Mammoth stage, it seems like he’s not entirely opposed to playing Van Halen it the situation feels right. Maybe this upcoming tour with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony will be just the right time.